Radio Free DelingpoleEp. 27: Popes and Puppies

This week, James welcomes back British author, columnist, and expert on all things American, Tim Stanley. They discuss the ongoing budget negotiations, why Britain may actually be doing better than the U.S. in terms of cutting the fat, why James would make an excellent Pope, the advantages of owning a dog, and their New Year’s Resolutions.

Don’t miss any more episodes of Radio Free Delingpole! Subscribe here or listen in above. Direct link here.

Ryan M: ok, EJ – I wonder how many memberships are going to be cancelled because of that photoshop… ;)

Since I am not Catholic they threatened to take away my college degree. Henceforth it will be aBachelor of Arts in Mass Media & Ex-Communication.

But here’s the evolution: · 1 minute ago

Delingpole’s face there is pretty hilarious. But I think you need to shade his complexion, some, to match the hands. I mean, I believe that Pope Delingpole would carry a puppy, but you’ve got him tanning only his hands…?

If this Photoshop is as outrageous as you ever get, you’ll be doing okay.

I can live with it.

Lord knows there’s a lot of people here on Ricochet who have no problem whatsoever with it – who may think it is hilarious.

But as you may have already surmised from some of what shows up on the member Feed, we do have some very religious people here too, who would take offense if you went further than you have with that image of James Delingpole holding a dog.

This is not the audience of the Stephen Colbert Show – and thank God for that.

Do not take EJ for task for this illustration. I’m the one who published it. If anyone is offended by it, let me know and I’ll take it down. It seems so obviously silly to me, but I am admittedly not in the target audience for those who might be bothered by it.

Father Sarducci hosted two SNL episodes during the 1983-1984 season and cameoed during two 1990s episodes, most notably on a Weekend Update segment where he reported on Pope John Paul II’s missing wallet. All together, Father Sarducci appeared on SNL thirty-one times, the most of any of the recurring characters.

In 1981 Novello made newspaper headlines when he visited Vatican City wearing the Father Guido Sarducci costume to do a photo shoot for Attenzione magazine. After taking pictures in an area where photography was prohibited, he and his photographer, Paul Solomon, were arrested by the Swiss Guards and Novello was charged with “impersonating a priest.” Although the guards attempted to confiscate the film from the shoot, Solomon managed to hand them the wrong film. The charges were later dropped.

In the early 1980s, Novello was featured in ads promoting candidates for the priesthood. He listed one advantage of being a priest as getting first pick at the annual parish garage sale.

But when I saw it, my first reaction was to suck in my breath and think “hmmm” the way you do when an off-color joke that is on the cusp of being too off-color is told.

Ann Coulter dances that line a lot, which weakens her credibility.

Blue Yeti: Do not take EJ for task for this illustration. I’m the one who published it. If anyone offended by it, let me know. It seems so obviously silly to me, but I am admittedly not in the target audience for those who might be bothered by it. · 0 minutes ago

The following quote from Tim Stanley (20 minutes into the podcast) is a good reminder why I’m not Catholic.

“It’s a bit like the priest says to you: ‘You must not lie. You must not fornicate. You must not cheat. You must not steal.’ Well, we all know that. We all try and avoid that. But many of those things are part and parcel of being a human being and are sort of unavoidable. And I would put capitalism and making money into that bracket.”

Blue Yeti: Do not take EJ for task for this illustration. I’m the one who published it. If anyone is offended by it, let me know and I’ll take it down. It seems so obviously silly to me, but I am admittedly not in the target audience for those who might be bothered by it. · 32 minutes ago

Offended?!?! I thought it was a tribute to Pius XII. But I haven’t listened to the podcast yet.

Blue Yeti: Do not take EJ for task for this illustration. I’m the one who published it. If anyone is offended by it, let me know and I’ll take it down. It seems so obviously silly to me, but I am admittedly not in the target audience for those who might be bothered by it. · 1 hour ago

Edward Smith: I am quite serious when I say that that picture gave me pause.

My sense that it treads on ground best left untrod does not get as far as this:

To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.― G.K. Chesterton

But I would not want to see its like here again.

And I am being as serious as a Heart Attack when I say that.

Doesn’t intent have to be taken into consideration? I don’t take issue with situations like this where there is plainly (at least to me) no intent to offend or insult. It seems to me that there is strength in being able to have a laugh at one’s self and one’s beliefs.

At the least, it shows that Catholics aren’t so childishly insecure as some other faiths–not trying to say that you are being insecure, Edward, I can see and understand your points. I share your feelings about the Hitler mustache on Obama, BTW.